Welcome to this Watch LIVE. Hi, I'm Lydia Winters.
And I'm Boo booy and Sitare asks why don't LVMH drop the tag and
return to just Hoyer? My subconscious seems to think
their word tag cheapens the watches.
Yes, I'm a watch enthusiast, but my aversion to the green tag
part of the logo stretches back to my teens, late 90s, early
2000s, when it was splashed up and down every mall in
Scandinavia. I'm more Lydia's age than Vu's
age. Hey, there's nothing wrong with
Vu's age. OK, let's just be clear.
Could this be a generational thing?
What do you think? Oh, I loved this question.
And I started with a history, a history lesson.
So in 1985, that was when the company changed their name to
Tag Hoyer. So that was when the techniques
stay on guard. The Tag part, who was known for
their high tech products, acquired the Hoyer company in
1999. That's when the Tag Group sold
the majority of Tag Hoyer to LVMH.
So Tag kind of says that under the new ownership of Techniques,
the avant-garde business group, TAG Hoyer made the transition
from a brand associated with mechanical chronographs to a
company designing watches for the 21st century.
I thought that that description is probably why a lot of
enthusiasts may wish it to go back to Hoyer, which was the
focus on chronographs. Sports watches, you know, the
Skipper, the Formula One, like the Carrera, those were all in
this heyday. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no.
And I agree. Yeah.
In 1999, when LVMH acquired Tag Hoyer, one cool thing is that
they actually rehired Jack Hoyer, who had sold the company
in 1982 because he he couldn't, you know, make them make enough
money to keep it. And they actually hired him to
return in 2001 as the company's honorary chairman.
That's cool. So that was to kind of bring
this like the heritage of the brand back to new enthusiast.
So I thought that was really interesting to think about.
I mean, I must say I actually only know the Tag Hoyer brand.
I didn't know anything. I didn't have any idea that it
was ever called Hoyer until I was part of the watch community.
So I actually think because of all of the notoriety they have
gained, what whether it's through ambassadors or all
different things, they're actually making it so that like
to me, if they dropped the tag part, people the like the
average person would be like, what?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I, I think I, I agree with you.
I don't know if our ten years not that much age gap.
It makes a huge. Different generation though.
Ten years is not a generational gap.
OK, I just happen to be tail end of Gen.
X. Different generation.
You're in a different generation.
OK, anyway, so here's how Like, OK, there's a couple of things
to parse here. Number one, buying a company and
then sticking your name over the name of the company is a bold
move. And it's also a little bit
strange today it but there are other watch brands and other
brands who have done that right? Like this is not unheard of that
a company buys a company and they put their but think about
it. Well, like the colt they put
Jaeger later. Yeah.
So like if you think about it in today though and maybe
acquisitions happen more today. I, I don't know the statistics,
but kind of feels like with tech companies for sure, it feels
that way. Like think about it.
If when Facebook bought Instagram, if they just called
it, oh, now it's called Facebook, Instagram.
And then you know, and everything they buy, they just
put Facebook on top of it. It would be pretty weird, right?
Even though we know that Instagram is part of Facebook,
the brand doesn't need to be Facebook Instagram.
But we live in a different time now and information is shared
differently now. So I could see why they would do
that back then, even outside of the fact that they were kind of
like, hey, the tag part means we're bringing technology.
This is a new world. Like old mechanical stuff is
out, we're going to the new world.
Even without that, I could still see why they would do it.
But that being said, I had a very different view of tag
because when I was in my, I guess my early 20s, my boss at
the time had told me, like when I make it, I'm going to buy A
tag Hoyer. Like when I have money, I'm
going to buy A tag Hoyer and for some reason I didn't even like
this guy, right? Like he wasn't a big figure in
my life. I I didn't dislike him either.
I just. Yeah, he wasn't like someone he.
Was just my boss, he was fine, kind of a silly guy sometimes
but nothing against him. But also he wasn't someone I
looked up to. However, that statement stuck
with me for years and years. Years and decades until you went
to buy me a watch and I said, well, I want A tag Hoyer.
And it was, I truly believe it was only because of that
statement, because I, I, I don't have any other moment in time
that I can think of tag Hoyer being anything.
So there's all kinds of weird reasons that.
And you also bought me A tag Hoyer.
That was my first luxury watch because.
We made it. But yeah, it's just kind of one
of those things. So I don't think it's only a
generational thing. I think it's also how'd you get
into watches, right? If you got into watches through
someone who knew the Hoyer brand already, then they probably were
like, yeah, this whole Tag thing is stupid, right?
So you need to hate it and then you probably hate it.
If that's how you come in, then that may be your introduction is
like Hoyer used to be amazing, then TAG took over and nowadays
it's not as good as it used to be.
And so then you kind of have this distaste for the name tag.
But I do think it could be a huge mistake for them to drop
it. Yeah, I mean, I think it's
interesting because what he's saying is like, it's because of
how much it was like splashed everywhere and every mall in
Scandinavia. And I do think, you know,
because Tag is like a luxury watch brand, but they are or
historically have been a little more of that affordable or entry
level luxury, entry level, an entry level luxury watch brand.
They are the watch brand that you are are going to see kind of
like a lot of advertisements at the mall at, at like the general
airport, not the Geneva airport where they're like showing the,
you know, a reshard meal. We used to.
See tag ads in many of the airport parts we'd go to.
And also we see like recently, so when they launched their new
avant-garde eyewear, there have been a lot of ads in Stockholm,
like on a lot of yeah. We were seeing them all over one
weekend. So there's also this part where
like having worked on a brand for 13 years, I know that many
times like the local office does things for their local market.
And so evidently, like in Scandinavia, the that sort of
like signage must work where it's kind of like you see A tag
Hoyer sign every, you know, like every bus stop in some cases
recently even for the eyewear. So I do understand there's that
feeling of like, oh, they're pushing something on to me, but
it probably was working because they're still doing it, you
know, 3030 years later. Scandinavia is currently
plastered with Tag Hoyer ads. Yeah.
I mean, it is really interesting because you know, when I'm in
different places in the US, I'm not, I'm not seeing it in the
same way. So that may be like a very yeah,
maybe for the Scandinavian market because you do have these
different markets have different things and yeah.
So I'm so I'm so curious about that.
But for. I know I was just going to say I
will say that after you bought me that watch and then years
later when I started becoming more a part of the watch
community, then I like didn't like that watch for a while
because I was like, it's A tag Hoyer.
And you know, when you get into the watch community online, big
parts of the watch community say that tag Hoyer is a terrible
company and they don't make good watches anymore, or at least
they were. You know, there's a little
comeback these days, at least in the watch enthusiast community.
But like those types of things do affect how you see things.
And I think if this what if the trajectory they've been on
recently with the watch enthusiasts, you know, I don't
know what their sales are like all the time, but like with
watch enthusiasts, then maybe we will get to a place where people
aren't talking about like drop the tag, like let's go back to
Hoyer. Like, because what they're doing
is so great. It's kind of like Tutor.
They were years back. People viewed Tutor as just a
cheaper version of Rolex, right? And now it has its own, it feels
like. Its own brand, so these things
can change over time, but the company has to work hard on
that. It's not.
Going to just change itself. Yeah, exactly.
And I was thinking about this because I was watching, you
know, my favorite movie, The Fall Guy, again last night with
Ryan Gosling. 4th time I. Don't know, looking at that
gorgeous tag Hoyer and also a friend of the podcast Trish
Watchgirl life. She just got a new glass box
Carrera reverse panda and that the glass box Carrera is one
that I have tried on multiple. Sometimes I just think it's
awesome and it really feels like it's that mix of heritage Hoyer
plus the tag. And I think if they can keep
going in that, you know, sweet spot, it would be awesome.
Not sure about the avant-garde eyewear, but you know, what can
you do? OK, Once Upon a time there were
watches, asks. OK.
That's the name. Yeah, that's the name.
Have you ever had a watch that you wore in some context which
became a negative experience, therefore you associate the
watch so much with that experience that you had to sell
it? An example from my own life was
a Swatch collab Momo Momo Starry Night because I bought it
because it had a little color and it would fit into a visage
of my artwork. On the 1st occasion at the
opening I had a horrible night, I'm kind of paraphrasing here, a
horrible night and I associated the watch with that ever since
and then had to sell it. Do you have a similar experience
from your watch life? I do.
Years ago a friend of mine gave me a watch.
It was a nice watch we but we had given each other nice gifts
and that friend later became not my friend in a in a very extreme
way, right as friend this can happen.
You know, you think you know each.
Other and that, but that also could be for people who are
like, they give watches back and forth and then they break up.
Yeah, and break. Up yeah, I never thought about
that version of that I always feel that I'm like stuck with
you now you. Do even though when I made you a
chair, you made me promise that if we broke up, you get to keep
that chair. So which is the weirdest
request, But anyway, so, so this friend and I, I guess broke up,
right? And even though I liked the
watch watch, I no longer wanted to wear it.
It just didn't feel it. It just didn't feel like it had
come from a good place. And it just, yeah, I lost love
for that watch. And so I sold it.
Yeah, I was thinking about this one of mine.
I've told this story before, but you bought me a Nomos Orion and
what you agreed on, it was a little was more about work, like
a work thing. And then when I didn't feel like
I didn't feel that that really like resonated with me or like,
it felt a bit like I wanted the watch to be from you and not put
it into work. And so I just could never get
over that, that initial like, Oh no, it says something about
work, but it's the thing for us. Yeah, it's it's super weird.
But I do understand that feeling like oh, it just doesn't.
Something doesn't feel right. In a different context than what
you. Want exactly?
Yeah, I wanted it to be a love watch.
Love, love. Love, love me Boo, Love me Boo.
Please. Everyone's worried you don't
love me enough. Wait, are they?
I don't. Haven't seen these comments.
That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.
I'm just kidding. He adores me.
Don't worry everyone OK, but I was thinking about our amazing
friend Britt Pierce, incredible YouTube and all around person.
She had a huge accident. I mean like a life threatening
accident on her bike. She's talked about it on her
channel, so I'm not telling something that I that I
shouldn't, but she was wearing her Rolex OP in black and she
actually has use that watch as something that feels really
special to her that it survived this traumatic event.
And I just thought how amazing Britt is that she goes with the
positive side because she would be like, Oh, this watch reminds
me of like this absolutely horrible moment.
And instead she felt like, oh, this watch is like a survivor
like me. And I think that's really
amazing. And so it it did make me think
about how I could just frame things a little differently and
make sure that I, I really love all of the watches that I have.
But yeah. OK, one last super quick
question for you. Vu Wayne asks Episode 57 recap
on sharing watches. Was that episode 57 and now
we're at 1:46? Yes, well Wayne has been re
listening to all of the episodes with his partner, so he's done a
second go round, which is definitely not advisable by any
by anyone, but so he he wants to know are you sharing watches?
We OK, so for those of you who are not like Wayne and his
partner and aren't going back and listening to everything in
that one, I said that I would try to figure out a watch
sharing situation with Lydia. We haven't watched.
Sharing situation tells you everything you need to know.
It's gonna happen, it just hasn't happened yet anyway.
Someday. Someday it's gonna, it's gonna
happen. It's gonna.
All the music started, so I guess we can't continue.
Talking What if we do it for episode 157?
That's too close.